Boat mooring means



1956 E. w. GUSTAFSON- BOAT MOORING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 1, 1955 Nov. 20, 1956 E. w. GUSTAFSON BOAT MOORING MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 1, 1953 INVENTOR ERIC w, GUSTAFSON ATTORNEY rates This invention relates to improvements in boat mooring means, and more particularly to an improved mooring means for securing small boats, for example row boats, and motor and sail boats of the pleasure class, to and in conveniently spaced position alongside a dock, pier or similar boat landing.

While boat mooring means functioning in place of the common mooring ropes, buoys and the like are well known, such have never come into extensive use, either because of their expensive and, in most instances, cumbersome construction, or because, when attached to a dock or pier, they interfered with the normal use thereof, if not creating a hazard because of protruding parts. Moreover, while the prior mooring means were capable of permitting raising and lowering movement of boats moored thereby with change of water level and wave action, as far as I am aware they were not concerned with or capable of providing for any fore and aft motion or angular motion surfacewise of the moored boat under the action of waves striking the same, for example, nor were they adapted to moor boats of widely different lengths and widths, being, instead, only adapted to moor boats of fixed size.

Stated generally, a principal object of the present invention is the provision of boat mooring means which overcomes the objections to and/ or disadvantages of prior devices intended to serve similar function, through the provision of mooring means which is characterized by compact, simplified design, which incorporates a mooring arm which automatically retracts to a safe, out-ofthe-way position when not in use, and which provides for limited motion of the moored boat under changing conditions of water level and of wave action, while at the same time resisting such motion with spring force whereby the motion of .the moored boat is effectively controlled.

A more particular object of the invention is the provision of boat mooring means capable of securing a boat in longitudinal tension, while at the same time permitting it to move laterally and vertically in controlled manner.

Another object of the invention is the provision of boat mooring means of a design enabling it to be adapted to the mooring of boats of widely different length and beam dimensions.

Further detailed objects of the invention are the provision of boat mooring means which may be sold and installed as a package, and which, when so installed, is ready for immediate operation; the provision of boat mooring means characterized as in the foregoing, which may be readily operated both in mooring a boat to and freeing it from the dock; and the provision of boat mooring means which is inexpensive yet safe and thoroughly dependable in use.

Other objects and advantages of boat mooring means according to the present invention will appear from the following detailed description thereof, taken with the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred physical embodiment thereof, in which:

atent U ice Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a dock, pier or similar boat landing equipped with a pair of mooring devices together constituting the mooring means of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, which illustrates in plan the action of the pair of mooring devices according to the invention in securing a boat spaced from the dock and in longitudinal tension;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged broken-away side elevation of one of the boat mooring devices illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, such being the right-side or stern-end mooring device shown in said views;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken along line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section taken along line 55 of Fig. 1, illustrating one means of attaching the mooring devices to a dock or pier so that it may accommodate boats of different lengths; and

Fig. 6 is a section through a modified form of mooring arm enabling the mooring means to be used in mooring boats of widely diiferent widths.

Boat mooring means according to the present invention comprise a pair of preferably identical but oppositely disposed mooring devices, one for each end of the boat to be moored, which are designed to be affixed to the side of a dock, pier or similar boa-t landing (hereinafter referred to as a dock) in longitudinally spaced relation, the spacing of said devices being related to the length of the boat to be moored, as will be hereinafter explained. Each of said devices includes an elongated mooring arm having a normally retracted position in which it is disposed in safe, out-of-tthe-way position along and close to the side of the dock but which is pivoted adjacent an end thereof so that it may be swung outwardly against the force of spring means tending to retract it, to an operative position in which it extends at right angles to the dock or pier. Each of said mooring arms has length greater :than half the width (beam) of the boat to be moored and is provided at its free or outer end with connector means adapted to be coupled to complemental connector means carried at the ends of the boat and preferably on the longitudinal center line thereof. By disposing said devices so that the mooring arms are swingable towards one another in moving to their operative position, and by spacing said devices an amount such that the axes on which the mooring arms turn are spaced slightly in excess of the length of the particular boat to be moored, it will be seen that when the mooring arm connector means are coupled to the complemental connector means provided at the bow and stem ends of the boat, the mooring arms are held in their operative or extended position, wherein they function not only to space the boat from the dock or pier but also to hold the boat in longitudinal tension.

According to a further feature of the invention, the connector means carried by the free ends of the mooring arms, rather than being rigidly aflixed thereto, are con nected to said free ends by a yieldable or elastic connection enabling the connector means to extend with respect to the arms when pull is applied thereto, and to automatically retract when such pull is relieved. The provision of such a yieldable and extensible connection between the connector means and the free ends of the arms is of particular advantage in that, by spacing the mooring devices from one another a distance in excess of the length of the boat being moored by an amount such that the connector means are only slightly extended in coupling them to the boat, said connector means may be further extended a substantial amount, but only against the elastic force tending to retract them. Since such further extension usually results from lowering motion of the boat in accordance with change of water level and wave action, and/or because of the tendency of the boat to move laterally or angularly laterally under wave action effective thereon, it will be seen that while the moored boat may partake of the various motions to which a moored boat is subjected, such motion is at alltimes effectively controlled by the opposing elastic force effective on said connector means and which tends to resist such motion, and to a lesser extent by the spring means tending to return the mooring arms to their retracted position.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4 illustrating the stern-end mooring device, such comprises a mounting member generally designated 10, which is preferably cast from aluminum, in which all of the moving parts to be described are effectively mounted and housed. Said mounting member illustratively is of elongated box-like construction providing forwardly extending upper and lower walls 11,1111 and end walls 12, 12a carried on a base 13 in the form of a projecting flange which may extend completely about the mounting member proper.

A pivot pin 15 is shown to extend vertically between the upper and lower walls 11, 11a, said pin being disposed adjacent the forward edges of said walls and spaced a short distance from the end wall 12, i. e. the end wall nearest the end of the device to which the boat is coupled. Pivotally connected to the mounting member via the pivot pin is an elongated mooring arm 16, it being observed that said arm is connected a short distance from one end thereof, which distance is slightly less than the aforesaid space between the pivot pin 15 and the end wall 12 of the mounting member, and also somewhat less than the depth or" the mounting member. The overall length of the mooring arm .16 is preferably such that its long end projects beyond the other end wall 12a of the mounting member, and the front edge of said end wall may be suitably recessed to permit the arm when in its retracted position to seat therein.

As seen in Fig. 4, the interior space within the mounting member 10 is partitioned intermediate its front and rear edges by a wall 1'8 extending vertically between the upper and lower walls 11, 11a thereof and longitudinally from the end wall 12a towards the end wall 12. However, rather than extending to the end wall 12, said partition wall terminates short of the pivot pin 15, and connects with a front-to-rear partition wall 19 having an outer vertical stop face 20 disposed parallel to the inner face of the mounting-member end wall 12 and being spaced therefrom a predetermined distance such that the short end of the mooring arm abuts against said stop face (see dotted line position of the mooring arm) when it is swung to its operative position at right angles to the mounting member. As also seen in Fig. 4, the vertical partition wall 18 is provided with a through opening 21 adjacent the front-to-rear partition wall 19.

The aforesaid partitioning of the mounting member 10 results in the formation of an outwardly facing channel 23 in which the long end of the mooring arm 16 seats and is partially enclosed so as to be contained within the outer edge line of the mounting member when in its retracted position, and with a front-to-rear recess 24 into which the short end of said arm may freely move when'the arm is swung to its extended position, the vertical stop face 2% of the partition 19 which defines one side wall of said recess also functioning as a stop for the short end of themooring arm, thereby preventing same from being swung outwardly in excess of an angle of approximately 90. In addition, the partition 13 results in the formation of an elongated chamber 25 opening through the rear face of the mounting member 16, and which communicates with the outwardly facing channel 23 through the aforesaid opening 21.

As also seen in Fig. 4, the mooring arm 16 is normally maintained in its retracted or nested position by spring means illustrativcly comprising a coiled tension spring 28 contained Within the aforesaid rearwardly opening chamber 25 provided in the mounting member. One end of saidspring may be affixed to the mounting member as by means of a pin 2s shown to be vertically disposed, and the other end is connected to the mooring arm 16 via a flexible cable 36. Illustratively, said cable is bent around a roller 31 also contained within the chamber 25, so that it may extend forwardly through the opening 21 in the partition wall 18, its so extending end being connected to said mooring arm by means of a cross pin 32 extending therethrough.

With the construction so far described, it will be seen that the spring means2832j, which is substantially completely housed within the mounting member 10, normally holds the mooring arm 16 in safe, out-of-the-way position in which it seats in the outwardly facing channel 23.

It also imposes a spring force resisting swinging movement of the mooring arm 16 to its extended or operative position. It follows that, when the arm is held in its extended position, as by the drag of a boat secured to the outer end thereof, it places said boat under longitudinal tension.

To enable a boat to be moored to the connected to the outer or free end of the mooring arm 16, the latter carries a connector means, illustratively a hook 36 but which may be a hasp or the like, which is adapted to be engaged with complemental connector means. such as an .eye .or ring 37 (Fig. 2) carried at the ends of said boat preferably at its longitudinal center line. According to the invention, the connector means 36 i non-rigidly, i. e. yieldab-ly, connected to the mooring arm as by means of an extensible coil spring 38 which is preferably housed within the arm which for this purpose may be formed tubular. The coil spring may be connected at its inner end to the mooring arm by means of the aforesaid cross pin 32, and it is. preferably connected at its outer end to the hook 36 via a short length ofchain 39, or equivalent. Thus, the connector-means (hook) 336 may be extended a substantial distance beyond the freeend of the mooring arm 16, due to the stretchability of the spring 38 by which said hook is connected to the mooring arm as aforesaid.

Two such mooring devices as described above are secured in horizontal alignment to the side of a dock, in relative position that the mooring arms .16 thereof swing towards one another in their movement to extended positionand, conversely, swing away from one another in their movementto retracted position. Illustratively, the

pair of mooring devices are secured to a horizontal plank disposed on .edgeand which is bolted to the piles which supp-ortt-he dock. However, other forms of securement maybe employed, including that of bolting the mooring devicesrto the existing dock siding. In positioning the mooring devices,.they are preferably. spaced horizontally from one another a distance such that the spacing between the pivot pins "15 ubstantially exceeds the overall length of the boat to be moored, or at least the distance between the mooring eyes .or rings 37 provided stern and bow thereon. As to vertical positioning, the mooring devices are spaced from-water level the approximate distance that the boat to be moored rides out 'of water.

In mooring the boat, it is necessary only to bring same alongside the dock, swing the mooring arms 16 to their extended position and finally engage the connector means 36 with the complemental mooring eyes .37 with which the boat isv provided, as aforesaid. Due tothe spacing of the mooring devices, such results in the mooring varm 16 being maintained in. fully extended position, and also in the spring 38 being substantially but not fully extended. Accordingly, the boat is held in tension and it additionally may raise and lower with change of water level and may also partake of limited surface motion such as that impar-ted by Wave action, but only under the resisting force of springs 38 and 28 of the mooring devices. That is-to say, mooring devices of the invention permit limited motion of the moored boat but always in controlled manner.

To adapt lboat tmooring means as described both to boats of different size, at least one of the mooning devices, instead of being secured directly to the side of the dock, may be carried in a track or rail 40 which is secured directly to the dock siding or a side plank thereof. As seen in Fig. 5, said track 40 is provided with retaining flanges 42, 42a which engage over the upper and lower base flanges 13 formed on the mounting member as aforesaid. Such arrangement permits the spacing between the mooring devices to be varied at will by the simple procedure of shifting the track-mounted mooring device or devices with respect to one another. The shifta-ble mooring device may be secured in adjusted position by means of bolts 44 extending through holes 45 provided in the end base flanges 13 of the mounting member and which thread into holes 46 provided in the track 40, as best seen in Fig. 1. In the event it is desirable to vary the spacing of the moored boat from the dock, or to moor boats of greater width than the conventional row boat 'or motor and sail boats of the pleasure class, the length of the mooring arms may be extended as illustrated in Pig. 6. Thus, the mooring arms, rather than being made of a single length of tubing, may be made in two (or more) sections 16a, 16b which are adapted to detach-ably couple to one another, thereby to extend or shorten the arm length in accordance with the beam of the boat to be moored. When of sectional construction, it is necessary that only the outer or free end section of said arms carry the extensible spring 38 for the connector means 86.

Without further analysis, it will be appreciated that boat mooring means comprising identical but oppositely arranged mooring devices as described and illustrated achieves the objectives therefor as set forth herein. For example, each mooring device may be purchased and installed as a complete operating unit or package. The operation of such boat mooring devices, following their proper installation, is exceedingly simple, requiring only extension of the mooring arms and coupling of the hooks or equivalent connector means 36 with the eyes 37 or equivalent carried by the boat to be moored. Following such engagement, the moored boat is held in longitudinal tension by the conjoint action of the springs 28 and 38. The characteristics of said springs are of course such that the moored boat'may move vertically with change of water level, and may also move laterally or angularly SUIfBCGWiSE with 'wave action due to the extensibility of the springs. Upon a mooring arm being disengaged from an end of the boat to free the latter, said arm automatically retracts to a safe, out-of-the-way position in which it creates no hazards due to projecting parts to occupants of other boats or of persons using the dock. It will also be apparent that boat mooring means according to the invention is also sufficiently flexible that it may be adapted to the mooring of boats of varying length and width.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. Boat mooring apparatus comprising, in combination, a pair of oppositely disposed mooring devices, one for each end of a boat to be moored, adapted to be aliixed to the side of a dock or the like in horizontally spaced relation, each said mooring device including a housinglink mounting member, an elongated, horizontally disposed mooring arm normally housed in said member, and vertical pivot means operatively connecting said arm near one end thereof to said mounting member and for swinging movement in a fixed horizontal plane outwardly from and thence inwardly toward the side of the dock, said pivot means connecting the adjacent ends of the mooring arms to their respective mounting members whereby said arms are swingable outwardly towards one another and being horizontally spaced at distance at least as great as the length of said boat to be moored, means for limiting the outward swinging movement of the mooring arms to approximately whereby said arms may be swung outwardly from the dock only to a position in which they extend substantially normal thereto, and extensible connector means carried by and extending from the free ends of the mooring arms adapted upon the arms being swung outwardly as aforesaid to be separably connected to the ends of said boat to be moved, thereby to secure same to said arms and so that it extends longitudinally between said arms.

2. Boat mooring means substantially as set forth in claim 1, wherein at least one of said mooring devices incorporates spring means interconnecting its mooring arm and its associated mounting member and normally biasing said arm to its housed position in which it lies close against the side of the dock.

3. Boat mooring means substantially as set forth in claim 2, wherein said spring means is substantially completely enclosed within said mounting member.

4. Boat mooring means substantially as set forth in claim 1, wherein the connector means of at least one of said mooring devices is resiliently extensible.

5. Boat mooring means substantially as set forth in claim 1, wherein said mooring devices each incorporates spring means operative between its mooring arm and mounting member for biasing said arm to its normally housed position in which it lies close against the side of the dock, and wherein said connector means are resiliently extensible.

6. Boat mooring means substantially as set forth in claim 1, wherein at least one of said mooring devices is mounted for sliding movement in a horizontally disposed track aifixed to the dock side and means are provided for securing said one mooring device in a desired position of adjustment along the track thereby to vary the spacing between said pivot means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,094,610 Steinhauer Apr. 28, 1914 1,931,107 Dowell Oct. 17, 1933 2,155,043 Gorskey Apr. 18, 1939 2,440,972 Peltier May 4, 1948 2,558,174 Flink June 26, 1951 2,569,783 Smith Oct. 2, 1951 2,640,534 Coiling June 2, 1953 

